Rapid and reliable communications and information sys-
tems are required by national and NATO political and
military authorities for political consultation, crisis manage-
ment and for the command and control of assigned
forces. Modern technology and the integration of strat-
egic and tactical communications and information systems
into an overall NATO Communications and Information
System (CIS) has enabled these requirements to be met.
The rudimentary communications links available in the
early days of the Alliance were expanded in the late 1960s
to provide direct communications between capitals,
NATO Headquarters and Major NATO Commands.
When NATO moved to Brussels in 1967 a modern Com-
munications system was established as part of a range of
improvements in crisis management facilities. Satellite
communications and ground terminals were introduced
in 1970. The integration of the overall system was under-
taken by the NATO Communications and Information
Systems Agency (NACISA). The system is operated by
the NATO Integrated Communications System Central
Operating Authority (NICSCOA). Related policy matters
are coordinated by the NATO Communications and Infor-
mation Systems Committee (NACISC). The system is
financed jointly by member nations through the NATO
Common Infrastructure Programme. A Tri-Service
Group on Communications and Electronics, established
under the Conference of National Armaments Directors,
promotes cooperation among the NATO nations in the
development and procurement of communications and
electronic equipment with the aim of achieving the maxi-
mum degree of standardization or interoperability.
20. AIR DEFENCE
Air defence of the NATO European airspace is provided
by a complex system which enables aircraft and tactical
missiles to be detected, tracked and intercepted either by
ground-based weapons systems or by interceptor aircraft.
The command and control structure which facilitates air
defence, the NATO Air Defence Ground Environment
(NADGE), includes a number of sites stretching from
Northern Norway to Eastern Turkey equipped with
modern radars and data processing and display systems,
and linked by modern communications. Much of this
integrated air defence system has been commonly fi-
nanced through the NATO Infrastructure programme and
a significant part of its successor, the Air Command and
Control System, is expected to be similarly funded.
During the late 1980's, the early warning capability was
enhanced through the acquisition of a fleet of NATO E-3A
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. These
NATO-owned and operated aircraft, together with the
United Kingdom E3-D aircraft, comprise the NATO Air-
borne Early Warning Force, which is available to the
Major NATO Commanders. The French and United States
Air Forces operate E-3 aircraft, which can also inter-
operate with the NADGE.
As a consequence of the new security environment,
Alliance air defences are adapting to a more flexible force
concept, which can contribute effectively to crisis manage-
ment. To realise this concept, in-place systems, sensors
and weapons will need to be reinforced in times of crisis
by readily transportable elements so that air defence
forces can react as the occasion demands. Tactical ballis-
tic missiles are now part of the weapons inventory of
many countries, and the Alliance is therefore examining
possible improvements in defence against such systems.
The NATO Air Defence Committee (NADC) advises
the North Atlantic Council and Defence Planning Com-
mittee on all aspects of air defence, and enables member
countries to harmonise their national efforts with inter-
national planning related to air command and control
and air defence weapons. The air defence of Canada and
the United States is coordinated in the North American
Aerospace Command (NORAD).
21. CIVIL EMERGENCY PLANNING
Arrangements made by member nations for providing
civil support for the common defence contribute signifi-
cantly to the overall security of the Alliance. Civil prepar-
edness and the management of resources are national
responsibilities. However, much can be done through
coordination within NATO to facilitate national planning
and to ensure that the many facets of civil emergency
planning contribute to the security of the Alliance in a
cost-effective and well-structured manner. The principal
NATO body with responsibilities in this sphere is the
Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee which co-
ordinates the activities of a number of Planning Boards
and Committees dealing with the mobilisation and use of
resources in the fields of food and agriculture, industry,
petroleum, inland surface transport, ocean shipping, civil
aviation, civil communications, medical care and civil de-
fence.
NATO's civil emergency planning activities, directed by
the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee, are
experiencing a fundamental change. Greater emphasis is
being placed on crisis management and civil support to
the military, particularly in civil transport and industrial
mobilisation planning. In accordance with directives of
the North Atlantic Council, more flexible arrangements
are being made for drawing on the expertise, in a
crisis, of high-level experts from business and industry to
support NATO's crisis management machinery as required.
NATO experience and expertise in the Civil Emergency
Planning field has also been directed towards the coordina-
tion of humanitarian assistance to the republics of the
Commonwealth of Independent States, where NATO has a
subsidiary role in specific fields where its civil and military
experience is of particular relevance. This includes coordi-
nation of transport; logistical expertise and communica-
tions support for distribution; and practical assistance in
addressing medical requirements. NATO transport and sup-
port was made available in March 1992 for a fact-finding
mission of medical experts from nine countries and from
NATO and other international organisations, in order to
assess the medical needs of the member states of the CIS
and to identify areas in the health-care field in which assist-
ance could be given by the international community.(1)
22. CIVIL AND MILITARY COORDINATION OF AIR
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Large numbers of civilian and military aircraft use Euro-
pean airspace over NATO member countries. It is the most
complex air traffic environment in the world. Coordina-
tion of air traffic management and control between civil
and military users is therefore essential to enable civil
aviation to operate both safely and economically, while
at the same time allowing Allied air forces the freedom of
operation which is a prerequisite for effective training
and defence. Indeed, the flexibility and mobility of the
smaller NATO forces of the future will be crucially depend-
ent on the efficiency of the civil/military coordination
arrangements governing their rapid airborne deployment.
The North Atlantic Council recognised these concerns
when it established the Committee for European Airspace
Coordination (CEAC) in 1955. Since then this Committee
has been responsible for ensuring that all civil and mili-
tary airspace requirements are fully coordinated. This
includes the conduct of major air exercises, the harmonisa-
tion of air traffic control systems and procedures, and the
sharing of communications frequencies.
More recently, the surge in civilian air traffic, and
delays caused by insufficient capacity of air traffic control
and airport structures in many parts of Europe to cope
with this mission, organised by the Medical Working Group of the
Washington Coordinating Conference on Assistance to the Common-
wealth of Independent States, included experts from
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, United
Kingdom, United States, the European Commission (EC), the World
Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, the International Federation
of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) and NATO.
with peak-time traffic, have highlighted the need for
effective coordination between civil and military authori-
ties to ensure that the airspace is shared by all users on
an equitable basis. Consequently, in the context of current
efforts towards future pan-European integration of air
traffic management, CEAC is represented in a number of
international forums and is a participant in the Action
Programme approved by the Transport Ministers of the
European Civil Aviation Conference. Moreover, since
exchanges of views on airspace management constitute
part of the developing partnership between the NATO
Alliance and its cooperation partners, the Committee is
also actively engaged in this endeavour. A seminar on
civil/military coordination of air traffic management was
held in October 1991 with high-level participation by
twenty-two countries and a further seminar was held in
May 1992 to examine, inter alia, the possibilities for
further cooperation in this field.
The role played by CEAC, as the only international
forum specifically charged with the resolution of civil and
military air traffic management problems, is therefore
likely to become increasingly important in the years to
come.
23. SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
The concept of mutual security includes a broad range of
global concerns which transcend national boundaries.
These include maintaining a strong scientific base, preserv-
ing the physical environment, managing natural resources
and protecting health. NATO addresses these issues
through programmes of scientific activity and projects of
environmental importance.
The programmes of the NATO Science Committee
seek to advance the frontiers of science generally and to
promote the broadest possible participation in scientific
research by NATO nations. By providing multilateral
support for high-level scientific research, they encourage
the development of national scientific and technological
resources and enable economies to be achieved through
international collaboration.
The NATO Science Programme was established in 1957,
since when it has involved over half a million scientists
from Alliance and other countries. Most of its activities
promote collaboration through international exchange
programmes and encourage international working arrange-
ments among scientists, focussing in particular on
individual rather than institutional involvement. The prin-
cipal forms of exchange are Collaborative Research
Grants, Advanced Study Institutes, Advanced Research
Workshops and Science Fellowships. There are also a
number of special programmes to stimulate activity in
particularly promising areas of scientific research. The
results of all these activities are generally available and
are published in scientific literature.
A further programme of the Science Committee is
known as Science for Stability. This programme arose
out of the need to provide concrete assistance, in the
spirit of Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty, to the
economically less prosperous member countries. The pro-
gramme has concentrated on assisting Greece, Portugal
and Turkey to enhance their scientific and technological
research and development capacity and to strengthen
cooperation between universities, public research insti-
tutes and private companies. Its projects are essentially
joint ventures of significance to the development of scien-
tific, engineering and technogical capabilities which assist
these countries by supplementing national resources with
international funding for equipment, foreign technical or
managerial expertise, and training abroad.
The Science Committee is composed of national repre-
sentatives able to speak authoritatively on scientific mat-
ters and on behalf of their respective governments. It
decides on policy and ensures the implementation of the
Science Programme, in collaboration with the staff of the
Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division.
Following the changes in the political situation in
Europe, the Science Programme has recently entered a
new phase by being able to offer some funding for scien-
tists from cooperation-partner countries to participate in
its activities. The Work Plan for Dialogue, Partnership
and Cooperation established by the North Atlantic Co-
operation Council (NACC) in March 1992 also provided
for joint meetings of the Science Committee and co-
operation partners, distribution of proceedings of NATO
Scientific Meetings to central libraries in each country,
intensive scientific courses, laboratory visits by experts,
laboratory link-ups and a Science Committee Seminar on
mobility of scientists, which was held in February 1992.
In 1969 a Committee on the Challenges of Modern
Society was established to respond to the Alliance's con-
cern about environmental issues. Member countries have
participated through this Committee in numerous initia-
tives to take advantage of the potential offered by the
Alliance for cooperation in tackling problems affecting
the environment and the quality of life. Under the aus-
pices of the Committee, projects have been undertaken in
fields such as environmental pollution, noise, urban prob-
lems, energy and human health, and safety issues.
Two important concepts characterise the work of the
Committee, namely that it should lead to concrete action
and that its results should be entirely open and accessible
to international organisations or individual countries else-
where in the world. For each project embarked upon,
one or more member nations volunteer to assume a pilot
role, including responsibility for planning the work, coor-
dinating its execution, preparing the necessary reports
and promoting follow-up action.
In accordance with the NACC Work Plan, the Com-
mittee on the Challenges of Modern Society is also
broadening its work to include joint meetings with
NATO's cooperation partners, seminars on defence-
related environmental issues, and new pilot studies on
topics of particular interest to these countries.
